A few weeks ago some of my friends and I were invited back to my alma mater the Singapore Management University (SMU) during the Open House to be on a panel to share our experiences of studying at SMU, specifically in the social science faculty. It was a great privillege and every word we said came from the heart. And we really *heart* SMU.

To the prospective students and their parents, we spoke of the bonds formed, the opportunities presented and the possibilities. To me, SMU gave me space. Space to expand my horizons, space to meet interesting people, space to do what I loved, and space to get an education. You know how in behavioral psychology, experiments show that people tend to do much better at difficult tasks when they knew it was possible, rather than when it was not known whether the task was possible? Well, that's what SMU did for me. It made me think that anything was possible. And so it was.

We took a stroll around the campus after the talk which brought back so many fond memories.

And finally lunch with some others from the pioneer batch of social science students at SMU was inspiring as usual. We have all embarked on such different journeys in life- a philanthropist, an entrepreneur, a trader, an architect, a psychologist and a humble civil servant. You would never believe we all studied together in university.

But we believed it was possible, and it was.

If any of you are choosing universities right now, give me a shout. I'll be happy to talk to you to share more.